Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1887-12-28
HEROD AND JOHN.
FIRST LESSON OF THE IN7ERNA-
F'oNAL S. s. SERIES. JAN. /, 1883.

Comments by Rev. William Ns,v+o,,
D. D'-Text of Lesson. Matt. xiv, 1-1s.
Golden Text, Matt. XIV, 1e-Sremoriza
Verses $40.
from Lesson Helper ouarterlv nv, ,,o.r.,..,...
Oh H. 3 Hoffman, Philadelphia, publisher.I
Notes.-At that time, j. e.. of the ,rscad
ing chapter. Herod the Tetrarch, or Herod
Antipas, son of Herod the Great; Tetrarcb
In strictness of meaning, is the ruler of the
fourth part of kingdom, but sometimes. as
here' the third part, or Galilee and Perea
Fame, or reports about his mighty works
dis servants. or the officers of his conrt
'I1erodlas, granddaughter of Herod the Great
Charger, a large dish or platter. The
uaIlsei' or young woman, came, i. e., to the
prison where John had been confined Told
Jesus, l. c., of the death of John.
v l. these words seem to intimate that
herod had just then heard of the great
works OF Jesus. 1t seems that now. at last
the officers of his court had lust bepun tn
talk about him, and wonder who he couId
De. Now, as Jesus had been going about
doing his great works and speaking his won
derful words for about eighteen months. tbis
Ignorance on the part of Herod and his GREAT
men shows very clearly at how great a dis
rance they were living from all high and
holy influences. -0'
V. :. Clearly his courtiers were discussino
Jesus, and HerOd undertook to enlighten them
about Him. This great teacher, with WHOSE
Tame the land was now ringing. was NOT
Jesus at all. 1t was John the Baptist, whom
ne had beheaded, who was risen from the
uead' and who therefore had power to do
these great works. Now this declaration Of
HerOd shows:
The power of guilty conscience: and the
wide spread belief in the resurrection: and
his conscience would not let him rest He
knew that he was a murderer HaknoIr 49,
John was an upright and holy man. and that
truth and right were on his side vet he
knew that to please an adulterous woman he
mad shamefully put him to death. Is it a
wonder he could not restl If such a man as
derod could hold the doctrine of the resur-
rection, It's place in the popular mind must
nave been well assured At least it must
nave been widely discussed, as indeed the
mere existence of the Sadducees, who denied
the doctrine, proves it to have been.
V. 90. Here lies the secret of HerOd's
great disquiet. And the links in the chain
OF events are these Herod had repudiated
his own lawful wife and was living in admit
cry with the wife of his brother Philip. John
had fearlessly rebuked him for his great sin.
and, of course, had incurred the bitter en-.
nifty of Herodias. From that day he was n
doomed man, and nothing but fear of the
people restrained Herod from putting him tn
death
What could John doc Just what he did
lie must be ''clear in his great Office and
rebuke the offender. Publicly rebuke him
The sin was before the people and SO must
its condemnation be. At all hazards he must
be true to his Lords words. And SO must
the minister Of Jesus now. He must not ONLY
''exhort," but he must ''reprove and rebuke,n
and that too with all authority
Aud how ready was Herod's response. s'He
would have killed john No Thought of
breaking off his sin by Righteousness or his
transgression by turning to the Lord. John
was the transgressor here. And so the burn
ing and shining light in Israel must be put
out and the greatest of the prophets of the
Lord borne to bloody death in order that
an adulterous woman might be gratified in
her revenge.
Yet all through John was stronger than he
thought. HerOd feared John. He knew he
was prophet, and the sanctities of a spot
less character shut him in on every side.
v. b, Z. The birthday" here, probably
means the anniversary of his accession to
power. 1t was usual for kings to observe
this day with great pOmp-as Herod doubt
less did on this occasion. This daughter of
Herodias" was Salome, her daughter by her
first husband. She must have partaken of
her mothers character, for no modest female
would have made such an exhibition of her
self before such an assembly. Knowing him
as she did, was this all planned by Herodias.
to bring about her long plotted revenge on
John! Infiamed by wine, by music, by the
brilliant surroundings of the feast and the
dancing girl, the king bound himself with an
oath to give her whatsoever she desired
Mark adds, ''even to the half Of his king
dom"
v $40. Here was the opportunity de-
sired. And ii was well improved, too; for,
instructed by her mother, she demanded
''the head of John the Baptist What a re-
quest for a young girl to make What sa-
tanic hate must have ranked in the heart
that prompted it. What aptitude in hateful
things in the lips that uttered it. No doubt
Herod was beyond measure surprised. Even
he had not expected it. But in the madness
Of his folly he had bound himself by an oath
which he thought he could not break, and
the presence of those invited guests forbade
him to do even if he could. And so the com
Inand was given; John was beheaded and his
head presented to the damsel, who in turn
presented it to her mother. The whole ghast-
~ business is done, and John lies headless in
the prison.
V. II. The news was not long in spreading.
His disciples heard Of it, and with reverent
and 1ffectionate sorrow took up his body and
buried it, and Event and told Jesus Now,
there is something very beautiful in this.
| Their former jealousy of Jesus, for Johns
sake, seems to have died away; and they told
him of the danger that might reach even to
him. OF course they knew not the secret tie
that bound them together. They knew not
that as it Jared with John so it would with
hin. whose coming John heralded. They
HI not that Johns bloody death in his
prison was but the index finger pointing to
| Jesus ON the cross, Still they went and told
/ him.
GENERAL LESSONS.
| ]. The power Of a guilty conscience.-Is
this q foretaste of future retributionl Herod
could not get away from the presence of
John. He was with him everywhere. A
vision never more to be shut out. Judas
c.n.d not bear to look upon his thirty pieces Of
81. c-. and event out and hanged himself, {"
| 70 bct away lfOm lne NLslOu-
2 The binding power Of an oath.-In this
sense an oath is an appeal to Almighty God, to
do Or not to do a given act. And what power
has itl If the act in view is right, 10000
Oa.ls cannot increase our obligation to do it,
because it rests on the viii Of God, which is
truth in itself. And if it be not right, moth
ing can make an obligation to do it,
). How silently, yet how powerfully, did
Johns words about Jesus act on his disciples.
As the forerunner Of Jesus, who can tell how
many he brought to Christi The Lords Own
disciples were thus prepared to receive him.
He made ready the way Of the Lord And
now his disciples seem prepared to enter
theirs, no faithful testimony about Jesus Is
eNeT lost.
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